the princess saves herself in this one

by Amanda Lovelace and ladybookmad

poetry
/ˈpəʊɪtri/
noun
literary work in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature.

It's true - this collection mostly doesn't rhyme. And the structure is not "traditional" - but that also doesn't make it not poetry. Poetry is stories - stripped back to the raw emotions and feelings. This collection is very much like slam poetry and not everyone will like it - hell I find most people don't enjoy poetry full stop - but this collection is poetry.

To be fair - there is nothing particularly original in this collection. It recycles a lot of ideas - but so do many books and films and songs. So can we really fault the author too much for that?

While not original or groundbreaking, I did love this collection. It was heartbreaking and hopeful and empowering and honest and raw and it packed a punch. There were some gems to be found - my personal favourites were;


here lie
the raw,
unpolished,
& mostly
disjointed
pieces of
my soul.



sticks & stones
never broke
my bones,
but words
made me
starve myself
until
you could
see all of them.



you
did
absolutely
nothing
to
deserve
it.
- fuck rape culture.



once upon
a time,
the princess
rose from the ashes
her dragon lovers
made of her
&
crowned
herself
the
motherfucking
queen of
herself.

- how’s that for a happily ever after?

Lovelace, Amanda. the princess saves herself in this one (p. 105). Andrews McMeel Publishing. Kindle Edition.

This won't be for everyone but I'd recommend it to lovers of fairy tales, teenagers, slam poetry enthusiasts, tumblr users (because while I don't think the whole tumblr poetry thing should be considered a bad thing - it does have some merit of truth - it is tumblr poetry) and anyone struggling with their self worth. I will definitely be reading more of the author's works.